Farmers and property owners commonly install wire fence in order to demarcate the boundary of property or to confine animals. Installation of a wire fence, especially over rough terrain, generally requires the step of tightening the wire after it is secured to a post. For example, when a section of wire fence is positioned up a hill the top of the wire fence is generally tight while the bottom of the wire fence is loose.
Common practice is to tighten the wire of the fence with the use of pliers, screwdrivers, and/or claw hammers. In this regard, the installer twists a loose wire in order to put a bend into the wire so as to consequently decrease the length of the wire between the fence posts and thus increase tension. The installer makes as many bends in the wire as necessary in order to achieve a desired tension.
Wire fence may become damaged by being hit by animals, automobiles or other equipment. Additionally, falling trees brought about by storms may also hit installed wire fence thus causing it to sag. Still further, wire fence may begin to sag over time thus necessitating repair. In these instances, one or more posts of the wire fence may be pushed out of position thus resulting in sagging of the wire connected therewith. In order to repair wire fence it is sometimes the case that the repairer loosens the wire from its attached post and subsequently pulls the wire tight with the use of a lever or winch device. Next, the repairer re-attaches the wire to the post. Such attachment generally involves the use of a hammer to drive a plurality of staples into the post in order to secure the wire thereon.
Current methods of increasing tension in wire fence during installation or repair may result in weakening of the wire. The use of pliers, screwdrivers, or similar devices often results in the creation of one or more 90° bends or other creases in the wire thus creating a weak area that is susceptible to failure. Further, previous methods of creating tension in wire fence often require the use of multiple tools and are labor intensive. As such, there remains room for variation and improvement within the art.